La Liga
At last Aubameyang scores for Barca!
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first Barcelona goals as they extended their unbeaten run in La Liga to nine matches with 4-1 victory at Valencia.
Aubameyang, who joined from Arsenal for free on 2 February, was making his first start in La Liga and he slammed in the opener from Jordi Alba’s pass.
Frenkie de Jong tapped in a second and Aubameyang converted from close range, despite a VAR check for offside.
Carlos Soler pulled one back before Pedri curled home superbly from range.
Substitute Pedri’s strike may yet be given as an Aubameyang goal – that would secure his hat-trick – because the ball flicked off the Gabon international’s back on its way to the net.
Aubameyang could also have achieved a hat-trick late on when a ball fell his way in the box, only for home keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to deny the 32-year-old.
Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets said: “Since Aubameyang arrived, he has been working hard. We know he hasn’t played many minutes this season. He is a fabulous player and having him in the squad, having come here for free, is really positive for us.”
Barca manager Xavi will be thrilled with his side’s efficiency as they extended their unbeaten run in the league, which now stretches back to 4 December.
In the opening half, their three shots had produced three goals as Valencia paid for a slack 15-minute spell where Barca’s quick passing simply clicked.
Valencia – now seven games without a win in the league – thought they had made it 3-1 before the break but Soler was denied when VAR ruled out a first ever goal in La Liga because the ball had gone out of play for a throw in.
Soler thrust a diving header in after half-time but Pedri’s whipped effort ended any hope of a comeback.
“It’s been an important victory today,” added Busquets. “In the first half we were very efficient. That allowed us to dominate the game. It meant we were calm enough to play in our style. I think it was a good performance.
“In other games we have got ahead but have not been able to dominate and rivals have got back into the game. Today we did the job.”
-BBC
It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.
Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.
Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.
Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.
A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.
Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.
Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
-AFP
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Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-
-Reuters
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